Honing In

Well, my dissertation topic has been decided. Originally, I was hoping to write on the work of the Pre-Raphaelites, a group who, if you regularly visit my little corner of cyberspace, you know quite well that I am a tad infatuated with. In fact, the PRB was the main reason I chose to earn my Masters degree in Manchester. It seems, however, that they will not be the focus of my research, as the professor who would have been ideal supervising my project with be out of the country until next September...

NEVERTHELESS, I will remain a true Pre-Raphaelite enthusiast, perhaps even incorporating them into my second semester essays. Yet, they will be sadly absent from my dissertation. Le sigh. Anyways, there is no future for a PRB specialist in the US... (this is how I am consoling myself, anyways).

So, instead I will be exploring the images of Robert Mapplethorpe!! Yayyyy! Well, kind of. At least he is deliciously controversial, which I love. It should be an interesting topic which will coincide nicely with my second semester coursework. Mostly, I am excited to be working under the tutelage of one Carol Mavor, whom I adore and worked very well with this past semester on my infamous Proust / Boltanski project. With Carol as my supervisor, I am quite confident in my subject and am actually kind of looking forward to it, in a sick sado-masochistic sort of way. Oh, here's a sampling of my new main man :

Robert Mapplethorpe, Thomas, 1987

My ideas for my project are quite broad at the moment, as they ought to be, I suppose. Anyways, my dissertation will end up being something brilliant about ol' Rob's photographs explored through a discussion of queerness and the male gaze. Good fun, right? I hope so...